Comment pouvez-vous promouvoir une culture créative de résolution de problèmes parmi les gestionnaires de programme ?

One thing I’ve found helpful in getting the conversation shifted towards creative thinking is to switch the mindset from “no, because…” to “yes, if…” and as a leader I listen for opportunities to challenge project teams in this way. What would it take to make it work? What options can we consider?

I have worked at organizations where innovation and creativity is rewarded as a culture. It is fruitful to develop a culture in teams to discuss innovative ways and to think out-of-box to solve complex problems to meet stakeholder needs and program goals.

Through curiosity and a culture that supports positive risk taking. For managers who are less comfortable in this space, a framework can help and for that I like the '5 whys' technique. I remember a friend at school whose mum, if we asked why too many times always used to answer with 'Z'. Asking 'why' unleashes that childlike creativity and curiosity and -when Z isn't an option- forces you to think differently about a situation and bring in others with a new perspective if needed. It really helps with unblocking things and finding the real issue that needs to be solved. Never say no, just keep digging!

Creativity brings diverse perspectives to the table. It's like having a toolbox with various tools - each idea adds a unique approach to tackling problems. It turns problem-solving from a routine task into a dynamic process of exploration and innovation.

Development of a creative problem solving culture among program managers can be possible if the organizational systems or cultures promotes creativity. Creativity can be promoted by top management outlining expectations of program managers and rewarding it through appraisals, yearly recognition. In my previous work, we used to have mini working group that is tasked to develop and share their creative thoughts on selected program related challenges that remained. They present their idea to the who team refereed to as the parliament. These shaped the thinking of team members and put program managers responsible for taking leadership on creativity within and across teams they lead.

In my experience, we have conducted Poll on Zoom and Teams meetings for online feedback on various perspectives and creative ideas to solve a problem. Circulating and getting response on online forms with well structured questions is an easy way to get feedback on their idea of creativity, its importance and whether or not they support the idea of creativity at work.

For me personally, formal feedback through organized activities are great for gathering data; however recognize that some may see these as being shallow attempts by management to manipulate behavior. Team chemistry and culture comes about when organizations are intentional in listening and acting on employees ideas and thoughts as they occur in real time. A highly functioning team and manager knows they are high functioning because it’s how work gets done. Get on the floor with your team and work through things together. Continuously observe and engage, bottom up.

In my experience, creating a culture of creative problem-solving requires ongoing assessment and proactive measures. Some steps on the way could be: 1. Assess how well the organization's values align with fostering creativity. 2. Ensure leadership actively promotes and rewards creative thinking. 3. Encourage a culture that views risks as opportunities for learning. 4. Promote open communication and collaboration for sharing creative ideas. 5. Implement systems to recognize and reward creative contributions. 6. Introduce flexibility in processes to encourage experimentation. 7. Establish a feedback loop for regular assessment and adjustments. 8. Develop a vision and goals for a dynamic and innovative work environment.

Creating a comfortable environment supporting new ideas and welcoming potential failure is hard for some leaders. I've been part of a few organizations that touted boldness but really didn't embrace the failure aspect. This halts creativity. As a leader, you have to be honest with yourself. Are you indeed comfortable in those uncharted waters or are you tossing around buzzwords? The climate starts with you. Your nonverbal's, your questions, your reaction to "failure"...are ALL things your people are watching for. Setting the tone, getting ready to be uncomfortable...and ensuring a solid feedback loop occurs is a decent start.

Building trust among team members is the first step to creating a supportive environment that fosters creativity. A culture that engenders psychological safety allows team members to take risks, especially when new ideas and initiatives feel counterintuitive, go against the grain, and/or diverge from "the way we do things around here." In other words, creativity can only happen when dissent and diverging opinions are seen as assets and drivers of innovation, rather than as a threat. These conversations - which do have the potential to be difficult and challenging - are inevitable, and the only way they can remain productive is if there is trust among team members and leadership.

Psychological safety is paramount to building an environment where the teams can speak without fear and reluctance. We sometimes need to work on team members who do not speak, have ideas but are shy to come forth and talk. The decisions made for programs need to be inclusive of voice of all concerned members. If they have their heart in an idea or purpose, they will contribute to their best ability, identify risks and help to mitigate them ahead of time, come together to handle contingencies.

Consider utilizing 1:1’s and group check-ins to allow space to discuss progress, challenges, and creative collaboration. Ensuring team members feel they are supported and feel seen and heard so they are more likely to succeed and also bring their creativity to the table. There has to be a safe space where team members can share their feedback and discuss challenges and success stories.

Lead by example. Empower your teammates. Help them to achieve their goals by offering constructive feedback. And be willing to listen to their feedback as well.

One practice for increasing creative and critical thinking skills among program managers involves the use of engaging thinking exercises. I start by explaining Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning to demonstrate higher orders of critical thinking skills and use examples of how it supports program management. Then I introduce simple logic questions, riddles, and puzzles to get us to activate our critical and creative thinking skills. I like to use a variety of topics so each person has a chance to demonstrate their success and we learn from each other when we explain how we approached the problem. After warm ups - we shift gears and talk about paradoxes and logical fallacies. Later we cover belief systems and meta-cognition. Fun and engaging!

Developing a new skill with respect to a new way of thinking is not as easy as it may seem. We need to have robust mentor-mentee relationship to start with with mentors who are trained by experienced coaches. There is no dearth of online resources that can be used but if we provide relevant content to the team members which is structured and aimed at the requirement, it can be a good way for fostering learning. Additionally, live sessions can be conducted where creativity can be initiated in a fun-way.

To develop creative skills and habits, one most need to focus on one thing and learn the art of mastery of a craft. understanding learning phase with clear goals will accelerate any one to develop creative skills and habits.

Awards, recognitions and accolades are an important aspect of a project and program. We can recognize team members for their positive impact, creative ideas and innovative thinking. It needs to be done regularly and thoughtfully, with data points. We need to also keep in mind that celebrating success and document lessons learnt are important for continued success.

Feedback, social impart, community involvement in creative things are keys toward measuring and improving creative impact . Also value created within and out field of interest is additional way of measuring the improve of creativity impact.

Accountability is the structural framework for creativity in business culture. When accountability means crucifixion, creativity dies! Like when we were children, you have to practice, fail, and try new things. When allowed to, a child may cost you $2000 taking apart that computer, but when it is nurtured then learning can occur at a high level. The same goes for adults. Stuck in monotony every day will stifle your ability to rapidly provide creative solutions, but experimentation at work can breathe new life into operations as well as provide dynamic solutions to issues you thought “apart of the industry”

In other to cultivate a good culture, practice empathy when handling matters. Be sure that your team knows that you have them at heart and will ensure that everything that goes on within the establishment is within their interest.